Spinning Wheel Lights Make A Rolling Video Screen

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Spinning Wheel Lights Make A Rolling Video Screen

LAS VEGAS – In the darkest corner of the giant Interbike show here at the Sands Convention Center, a small company is showing off the most eye-catching bike lighting system I’ve ever seen – a bike wheel light that plays full-motion video inside a spinning bicycle wheel.

Monkeylectric, a Bay Area startup, claims to be the first company to use a bank of flashing LEDs to create video using the spin of a bike wheel.

Using a bank of battery-powered LEDs mounted to the wheel’s spokes, the system is able to show off cartoonish moving video that’s as bright and colorful as a storefront neon display.

As the wheel spins, the battery-powered LEDs flash on and off, creating the illusion of a man running and jumping; Homer Simpson belching; or a scrolling ticker-tape of words moving across the face of the spinning wheel.

“People are staring at it dumbfounded,” said Dan Goldwater, the system’s co-inventor. “It’s hard to believe it’s possible.”

The company currently sells a cool $65 bike-wheel light called the Monkey Light that generates bright neon patterns – but not full-motion video.

The new Monkey Light can be programmed wirelessly and changed on the fly. The video is created on a computer and uploaded to the wheel-mounted Monkey Light. Goldwater says it uses Zigbee, a low-power, low-speed alternative to Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, the system isn’t yet for sale to the public. Xander Hudson, the other co-inventor, says they hope to have a retail version in a few months. For now, the system will be leased for retail and promotional purposes, like conventions and store displays.